Written questions by Stainbank.

How many Border Security Command operations have taken place outside of the United Kingdom since July 2024.

The Border Security Command is committed to working with international partners to tackle shared migration challenges and is working in multiple countries and regions to reduce the impact of organised immigration crime into the UK.Our international work seeks commitment to deepen cooperation, including through upstream intervention with source and transit countries. The relationships we have strengthened and the new agreements we have formed will allow us to disrupt and deter the criminal gangs, as demonstrated by our landmark agreements with Iraq, our new pilot scheme with France, and through the Joint Communique with Vietnam.Further to this, the Border Security Command (BSC) is working strategically across the Border Security system, including with partners such as the National Crime Agency, Police, and intelligence agencies.Working with the BSC, the National Crime Agency led 347 disruptions of organised immigration crime networks in 2024/25 – its highest level on record and a 40 per cent increase on the previous 12 months.

Whether she plans to consult on further safeguarding measures following the introduction of the Disclosure and Barring Service new manual ID guidance in April 2025.

As an Executive Non-Departmental Public Body of the Home Office, the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is operationally independent and therefore responsible for its own identity assurance policy.The recent update cited is part of a broader move towards modernised and more accessible DBS processes and are not linked to any other safeguarding regime issues that may be considered by the Secretary of State.

Whether she has considered the potential merits of allocating funding to the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service.

The National Vehicle Intelligence Service (NaVCIS) is a national policing unit funded by industry, including finance and leasing companies, insurers and hauliers, to provide dedicated specialist intelligence and enforcement. NAVICS undertakes enforcement action at ports which are intelligence-led operations to tackle vehicle crime.Whilst the Government does not fund NaVCIS, we provided £250,000 last year to other law enforcement partners to help support enforcement at the ports to prevent stolen vehicles and vehicle parts being shipped abroad, including additional staff and specialist equipment.This Government is determined to drive down vehicle crime. We are working with the automotive industry and police, including the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead on the issue, to ensure the strongest response possible. I recently met the previous NPCC vehicle crime lead, ACC Jenny Sims, as well as other law enforcement representatives and representatives from industry, to discuss how we work together to tackle these damaging crimes.Via the recently established National Vehicle Crime Reduction Partnership and the police-led National Vehicle Crime Working Group, we are focusing on prevention and deterrence of theft of and from vehicles. This includes training police officers on the methods used to steal vehicles, encouraging vehicle owners to secure their vehicles, and working with industry to address vulnerabilities in vehicles.In the Crime and Policing Bill we have banned electronic devices used to steal vehicles, empowering the police and courts to target the criminals using, manufacturing, importing and supplying them.

Whether any arms export licences held by Elbit Systems UK were suspended on 2 September 2024 following the review of Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law.

We suspended export licences for Israel where these relate to items for use in military operations in Gaza. This includes licences for components for fighter aircraft, helicopters and drones, naval systems and targeting equipment.Since the details of individual suspended licences contain sensitive information relevant to the individual exporter companies, the government is not providing further comment on them.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support compliance with International Humanitarian Law by the Israeli Government on the protection of journalists reporting on the conflicts in Gaza and the West Bank.

The UK strongly condemns all violence directed against journalists and media workers. Civilian reporters covering conflicts are afforded protection under international humanitarian law. We are therefore appalled by the extremely high number of fatalities, arrests and detentions of media workers in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. In a recent joint statement with 28 other countries, we called on the Israeli authorities and all other parties to make every effort to ensure that media workers in Gaza, Israel, the West Bank and East Jerusalem can conduct their work freely and safely. The statement also called for all attacks against media workers to be investigated and for those responsible to be prosecuted in compliance with national and international law.The UK has contributed £3 million to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) Global Media Defence Fund, benefitting over 9,000 journalists, including time-sensitive emergency support to journalists and media experiencing sudden major crises in Ukraine, Sudan and Haiti. Earlier this year the UK provided funds to UNESCO's Special Fund for Gaza, supporting locally based journalists with vital equipment.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support the protection of journalists in conflict zones.

The UK strongly condemns all violence directed against journalists and media workers. Civilian reporters covering conflicts are afforded protection under international humanitarian law. We are therefore appalled by the extremely high number of fatalities, arrests and detentions of media workers in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. In a recent joint statement with 28 other countries, we called on the Israeli authorities and all other parties to make every effort to ensure that media workers in Gaza, Israel, the West Bank and East Jerusalem can conduct their work freely and safely. The statement also called for all attacks against media workers to be investigated and for those responsible to be prosecuted in compliance with national and international law.The UK has contributed £3 million to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) Global Media Defence Fund, benefitting over 9,000 journalists, including time-sensitive emergency support to journalists and media experiencing sudden major crises in Ukraine, Sudan and Haiti. Earlier this year the UK provided funds to UNESCO's Special Fund for Gaza, supporting locally based journalists with vital equipment.

Whether she plans to mandate a National Activities Safeguarding Framework for Children and Vulnerable Adults participating in extracurricular activities.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.The majority of out-of-school settings providers do a good job of delivering safe and enriching education and activities.These providers have a legal duty of care to ensure the safety of children that attend their setting and protect them from harm. Local authorities are also legally responsible for safeguarding children in their areas and, when there are concerns, we expect them to intervene using the wide range of powers available to them. Similarly, local authorities have a statutory duty to make enquiries about safeguarding concerns under the Care Act 2014. Statutory guidance for the Care Act 2014 makes clear that local authorities must ensure that the services they commission are safe, effective, and of high-quality.We have acted to improve sector safety by updating the safeguarding code of practice for out-of-school setting providers and accompanying guidance for parents and carers. We also published new e-learning for out-of-school providers and strengthened guidance for local authorities.We are seeking to further improve safeguarding standards and have published a call for evidence to help improve our understanding of safeguarding within the sector. This will help gather evidence required to inform potential approaches, such as a national framework, and enhance the safety of these settings.

What the maximum amount of money is the Scottish Government can spend through the Crown Commercial Service on a single contract.

The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) provides public sector organisations with a range of commercial agreements, through which they can procure common goods and services, as well as offering commercial advice and procurement services. CCS does not set a limit on the amount that an individual organisation can spend on a single contract procured using CCS commercial agreements or services. It is the responsibility of each organisation, including the Scottish Government, to determine its own level of spend on each contract.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to cover the costs in full for the provision of statutory obligations by councils for children resettled within a local authority in the Ukrainian resettlement scheme by the end of this Parliament.

Further details will be announced in the usual way, in due course.

What recent discussions his Department has had with the Scottish Government on the impact of 10% tariffs on UK exports to the USA on the Scottish economy; and what steps he is taking with the Scottish Government to help mitigate that impact.

The US market is Scotland's second largest export market for goods, worth £4bn in 2024. In response to US tariffs, the government launched a Request for Input on the 3 April to gather feedback directly from stakeholders across the whole of the UK that could be affected by our possible response options.On 8 May, the UK concluded a landmark economic deal with the US, saving thousands of jobs, protecting key British industries, and helping drive economic growth. DBT Ministers and officials engaged regularly with the Devolved Governments on US tariffs during the progress of the talks with the US and continue to do so.

Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with (a) Hertfordshire County Council and (b) the Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service on safety at Traveller sites in the context of the fire at Redbourn’s Ver Meadows Travellers site on 12 July 2025.

The government continues to be updated on the recovery plan following the incident via the Recovery Coordinating Group (RCG) which includes representatives from Hertfordshire County Council, St Albans District Council and the fire and rescue service.An independent fire investigation, requested by Hertfordshire County Council, will be shared in due course, and we will carefully consider any findings.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the ongoing UK–US trade negotiations (a) in July 2025 and (b) at other times on (i) manufacturers and (ii) exporters in Scotland; and what steps he is taking to ensure that (A) automotive manufacturing and (B) other sectors with a significant presence in Falkirk are included in any future trade agreement.

We are currently implementing the first phase of the UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal. The deal protects manufacturing through the removal of tariffs for aerospace goods and reducing tariffs for automotive, alongside the implementation of a new quota. The US was the 2nd largest goods export market for Scotland in 2024. We will continue our extensive engagement with businesses from across the UK, including those in Scotland, throughout these remaining negotiations.

What steps the Government is taking to strengthen the UK’s ability to protect its satellite infrastructure from (a) cyber attacks, (b) jamming and (c) other forms of hostile interference.

Protecting the UK's satellites and related ground infrastructure is a Defence priority. The Strategic Defence Review affirms that satellite communication and data relays are fundamental to the Armed Forces’ ability to understand the battlespace, exchange information, and make and communicate decisions in real time. Our ongoing work in this area focuses on improving space awareness, asset security, and system resilience, whilst incorporating relevant lessons from the conflict in Ukraine and from our Allies and international partners.

Whether her Department plans to bring forward legislative proposals on the employment status of joint or sole directors who receive their income from both dividends and a salary.

An individual’s employment status is determined by the facts and circumstances of the engagement between the worker and engager. This is based on case law. HMRC takes steps to ensure individuals are correctly treated as employees, or as self-employed, where they should be. HMRC provides extensive guidance to support organisations and individuals understand and determine employment status for tax. The Government acknowledges that differences in tax treatment between employees, the self-employed and those working through a company structure can lead to individuals paying different amounts of tax while doing very similar work. Rates of dividend tax are lower than the main rates of income tax, partly to recognise the fact that corporation tax may have been charged on the profits that are then distributed in the form of dividends The off-payroll working rules, also known as IR35, have been in place for 25 years. They are designed to ensure that individuals working like employees but through their own company, usually a personal service company (PSC), pay broadly the same income tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs) as those who are directly employed.

What recent steps her Department has taken to improve asylum claim processing times.

The Home Office continues to invest in a programme of transformation and business improvement, including innovative methods to speed up asylum decision making and improve the quality and consistency of our work.The latest quarter saw the second highest three-month period for people receiving initial decisions since comparable records began in 2002, and more than double (+116%) those in the three months before the election (April to June 2024).

Whether her Department has collected data on the share of e-bike sales comprising models imported from China.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection and publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK which includes data on imports of e-bikes. HMRC releases this information monthly, as a National Statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (OTS), which is available via their dedicated website (www.uktradeinfo.com).From this website, it is possible to build your own data tables based upon bespoke search criteria. HMRC does not hold information on what percentage of sales in the UK are made up of e-bikes that were imported from China.Classification codes (according to the Harmonised System) are available to assist you in accessing published trade statistics data in the UK Global Tariff. Goods moving to and from the UK are identified by commodity codes. These are publicly available from the UK Trade Tariff at https://www.gov.uk/trade-tariff. E-bikes are most likely classified within commodity codes 87116010 and 87116090.If you need help or support in constructing a table from the data on uktradeinfo, please contact uktradeinfo@hmrc.gov.uk.

Whether his Department has made an assessment of changes in the market share of e-bikes imported from China out of all e-bikes sold in the UK since 6 February 2025.

UK bicycle manufacturers play a key role in supporting our green growth ambitions. The Government’s Industrial and Trade Strategies are designed to support innovation, sustainability, and skills development, to help businesses grow, create new jobs, and compete internationally. The independent Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) assessed the market share of e-bikes imported from China as part of its recent anti-dumping review. Following the TRA's recommendation, anti-dumping measures on Chinese folding e-bikes were extended on 6 February 2025. The TRA will continue to assess the effectiveness of these measures, including any changes in market share.

Whether the Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel has made an assessment of trends in the level of demand for buses; and whether they have considered the (a) location and (b) type of demand over the next 10 years.

A key output of the UK Bus Manufacturing Panel will be the publication of a ten-year pipeline of projected bus orders. The aim is to consolidate reliable data from Mayoral Combined Authorities and operators into a single, accessible source for all zero-emission bus stakeholders. High-quality, credible data is essential to building industry confidence, and the pipeline is expected to be published later this year to ensure that projected orders reflect realistic and deliverable commitments.

With reference to the impact assessment on the Universal Credit and Personal Independent Payment Bill, published on 30 June 2025, how many of those moved into relative or absolute poverty are due solely to changes of the Universal Credit Health Element.

No assessment has been made on this basis. The Poverty Impact assessment published ahead of the Bill Committee Stage shows a 50,000 reduction in the number of people below the poverty line.

With reference to the Strategic Defence Review 2025, what steps his Department is taking to support the creation of defence-related jobs in (a) domestic supply chains, (b) advance manufacturing and (c) other areas; and what proportion of new manufacturing work will be assembly-based compared to that delivered through the wider supply chain.

The Strategic Defence Review sets the path for making defence an engine for growth, boosting prosperity, jobs and security for working people across the UK, in support of this Government’s growth mission. The UK’s manufacturing industry is vital not only to our national security but to our prosperity and economic growth which is why the Defence Industrial Strategy will include measures to back UK business and make defence an engine for growth as we realise the defence dividend. This Government is committed to strengthening domestic supply chains including in the advanced manufacturing sector.